The use of sauces and dressings is essential for grilling and preparing meat. BBQ sauce can be found on the shelves of almost every store, especially in the summer. These are usually smoky, sweet, tomato-flavored sauces. However, BBQ sauces are not only available in this flavor. There are countless types and varieties. In addition to the tomato version, mustard or mayonnaise-based ones are becoming increasingly popular. Therefore, we can choose from a wide variety of types according to our own taste.
They also have a lot of possibilities in terms of their use. BBQ sauces can be used as a wet marinade, also known as a marinade, but they are also suitable for moistening, as a glaze or even as a dip. Of course, BBQ sauces also differ in taste and consistency. The character of the sauce most often determines its area of use. More and more fruit-based BBQ sauces are available. Fruits go very well with grilled meats. Due to their acidity and sweet taste, they are suitable for use as ingredients. The most commonly used fruits include cherries, plums, peaches, apples, and pears.
There are also many possibilities in terms of spices. Cinnamon, anise, tonka beans, or classic herbs can be the perfect complement to BBQ sauces.
The making of BBQ sauces has a long history in the USA. America is home to countless manufacturers. The other huge BBQ sauce producing and exporting country is South Korea. Of course, Asian sauces represent a completely different, oriental flavor. If we use bbq sauce as a glaze or for moistening, we should strive for a thinner state. We can also dilute it ourselves, with beer, vinegar or fruit juices. But there are relatively many suitable products available for this. For use as a glaze, it is worth choosing a thicker but homogeneous product. For dipping, it is also worth striving for a thick consistency.
If we choose mayonnaise-based sauces, it is also worth using them as a dip or for glazing. Due to the high oil content, they are a particularly good choice for glazing. Mustard-based bbq sauces, also known as Carolina style sauces, are mainly used for red meats. They go particularly well with pork and beef. They are also popular in the street food and sandwich segment.
Whichever sauce we choose, we must take into account its area of use. At the largest KCBS competitions, masters of bbq sauce cooking can compete in a separate category. In such cases, the juices left over from bbq cooking serve as an important basis for the sauce. A kind of meat juice reduction provides the main flavoring. This can be traced back to French cuisine. This ingredient is not a proven practice in commerce. On the one hand, many manufacturers cannot work with animal-derived ingredients, and on the other hand, fats can give the sauce a rancid flavor over time. Occasionally, we can find bacon cubes in a sauce. But manufacturers mostly make and sell these products with vegan ingredients.
These sauces can be used not only for grilling. If we want, we can also use them as additional seasoning in our kitchen. Tomato-based BBQ sauces are usually associated with a smoky flavor. They most often contain natural smoke extract. Beech and Hickory smoke extracts are the most intense and suitable for flavoring sauces. Smoke aromas are quite volatile concentrates, so they lose their intensity during heat treatment. If we want a really smoky flavor, we only use these sauces at the very end of cooking. Of course, BBQ involves smoking, so often there is no need for additional smoky flavors. In such cases, we can experiment with mustard or mayonnaise-based BBQ sauces. We have an extremely wide selection of sauces and the selection is constantly growing, expanding not only with foreign but also domestic products.
